MICUA Matters Newsletter

MICA's New Building Houses New Cutting-Edge Programs

Spring 2017

Last year, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) announced it would construct a new, state-of-the-art technology and design center known as the Dolphin Design Center. The Center houses the College’s brand new BFA programs in Product Design and Game Design, as well as Architectural Design and Interactive Arts.

With State funding totaling $4 million, the new building will include cutting-edge makerspaces, research and prototype labs, and 3D printing and fabrication workshops. The Center will also be home to MICA’s Game Lab, a dedicated hub for the game community at MICA and greater Baltimore, which will support sponsored projects with outside partners, hold public events, and host an annual Game Designer-in-Residence beginning in fall 2017.

Progress is taking shape, as the building began rising from the site in early March. The building is designed with an exposed steel exterior structure that will also feature brightly painted and highly visible mechanical systems, wiring and plumbing. The building is on track for a fall 2017 opening.

“Students will be working in a space that invites them to see how the building functions and was constructed,” said Mike Molla, MICA’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. “This visual transparency befits a maker and design oriented facility.”